For years, one of my dream cosplays has been Leia's original Senatorial gown from A New Hope. For some reason, I had kept it on the back burner until I heard of Carrie Fisher's passing in December 2016. The shock of losing someone who I admired and loved so much sparked me to finally get this costume done and make it in her honor.
I'm relatively new to the Star Wars family, so finding out that huge costuming guilds like the Rebel Legion and the 501st Squadron exist and do charity events made me really want to join one! I knew I wanted to submit my Leia costume for Rebel Legion so I followed their guidelines, along with the approved tutorials on their website. I found two that helped me tremendously:
Adding the hood was fairly simple, as I just stuck to the tutorial. I added hooks and eyelets to the back and then pinned and sewed the hood to the dress.
And here's the final result!
Since the lining is two parts, you can see the seam slightly through the outer knit fabric. Luckily, the belt covers it when it's on so you don't see a thing!
This is just a quick compilation of all the progress shots I took from my time making Leia's Senatorial gown. Next time - her metal belt!
I'm relatively new to the Star Wars family, so finding out that huge costuming guilds like the Rebel Legion and the 501st Squadron exist and do charity events made me really want to join one! I knew I wanted to submit my Leia costume for Rebel Legion so I followed their guidelines, along with the approved tutorials on their website. I found two that helped me tremendously:
- An overview page outlining the whole costume by Kay Dee Collection.
- A full dress tutorial made by P&S Costume Creations
I started off by getting white knit fabric, specifically the White Jet Set knit from Joann Fabrics. The knit gives the dress a nice drape and breathability while also being easy to care for (no ironing, yay!) I was worried the knit fabric alone might be see-through so I used a white bedsheet for lining fabric. One big bedsheet was more than enough for the lining, and I believed I used 4 yards for the outer fabric.
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| It was a LOT of fabric. So much fabric... |
I based my pattern off of the one on P&S's tutorial. Since the dress is basically one huge piece of fabric, it took up most of the space in my living room. I folded the fabric hamburger wise and then again hot dog wise (I really don't know how else to describe it lol). I did this twice, once for the outer fabric and once for the lining. I then pinned, sewed, and hemmed the two parts together to make the body of the dress.
The collar was the most daunting part of the dress, as I've never made one before. I made a mock up with a scrap piece of blue fabric and then pinned it to the dress. Once I made some alterations, I cut out pieces from the lining and outer fabric.
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| The dress sewn and hung inside out on my dress form. |
Adding the hood was fairly simple, as I just stuck to the tutorial. I added hooks and eyelets to the back and then pinned and sewed the hood to the dress.
And here's the final result!
Since the lining is two parts, you can see the seam slightly through the outer knit fabric. Luckily, the belt covers it when it's on so you don't see a thing!
This is just a quick compilation of all the progress shots I took from my time making Leia's Senatorial gown. Next time - her metal belt!
